We are so excited to be selected as one of the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners for the second year in a row!!  Read below for more details.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) July 13, 2011

Plastic Jungle, the Web’s largest secured gift card exchange, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners for the second year on a row. Inclusion in the AlwaysOn Global 250 signifies leadership amongst its peers and game-changing approaches and technologies that are likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players in the Global Silicon Valley. Plastic Jungle was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and industry experts spanning the globe based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

Plastic Jungle and the AlwaysOn Global 250 companies will be honored at AlwaysOn’s ninth annual Innovation Summit at Santa Clara University on July 28th, 2011, at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA.

This two-day executive gathering that highlights the significant economic, political, and commercial trends affecting the global technology industries. Innovation Summit’s goal is to identify the most promising entrepreneurial opportunities and investments in the global tech industry.

“This year’s AlwaysOn Global 250 are companies driven by the biggest mega-trends, including the accelerating growth of mobile users, cloud computing, and SaaS offerings, globalization, and the socialization of commerce and basically everything online,” says Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. “This year’s winners clearly represent some of the highest-growth opportunities we’ve seen in the private company marketplace in the history of the global Silicon Valley.”

The AlwaysOn Global 250 winners were selected from among thousands of domestic and international technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2011 list.

Merchant-issued – or closed loop – gift cards now represent $90 billion of the U.S. economy, and an estimated $30 billion in gift cards are unredeemed at any given time. Plastic Jungle brings liquidity to the secondary gift card market by allowing consumers to buy gift cards at their favorite stores for savings at up to 35%, sell unredeemed gift cards for up to 92% of the gift card value, or donate the value of unused cards to their favorite cause. Users can also opt for instant funding via PayPal or Amazon.com gift cards for select retailers – all in a safe and trusted environment.

A full list of all the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners can be found on the AlwaysOn website at:
http://www.aonetwork.com/AOStory/Announcing-2011-AlwaysOn-Global-250
“It’s an honor to be recognized by AlwaysOn as one of the top tech innovators in our field,” said Bruce Bower, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “In the last 5 years we have grown from a small startup to the largest and most trusted brand in the secondary gift card marketplace, and we’re proud of our efforts to develop unparalleled payment applications that protect the interests of consumers and retailers alike.”

About AlwaysOn
AlwaysOn is the leading business media brand networking the Global Silicon Valley. AlwaysOn helped ignite the social media revolution in early 2003 when it launched the AlwaysOn network. In 2004, it became the first media brand to socially network its online readers and event attendees. AlwaysOn’s preeminent executive event series includes the Innovation Summit, OnMedia, OnHollywood, Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic / IMPACT 2011, OnDemand, Venture Summit Silicon Valley, Venture Summit East, GoingGreen Silicon Valley, and GoingGreen East. The AlwaysOn network and live event series continue to lead the industry by empowering its readers, event participants, sponsors, and advertisers like no other media brand.

Read the full press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/7/prweb8640077.htm

We are thrilled to announce AlwaysOn has selected Plastic Jungle as an AlwaysOn Global 250 Winner! We couldn’t be more excited and wanted to share this exciting news with our readers and community. The following article was posted today (7/26) on Marketwire.

Plastic Jungle Selected by AlwaysOn as an AlwaysOn Global 250 Winner

Recognized for creating technology innovations for the Global Silicon Valley

San Jose—Calif., July 26, 2010 – Plastic Jungle, the Web’s leading gift card exchange, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners. Inclusion in the AlwaysOn Global 250 signifies leadership amongst its peers and game-changing approaches and technologies that are likely to disrupt existing markets and entrenched players in the Global Silicon Valley. Plastic Jungle was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and industry experts spanning the globe based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

Plastic Jungle and the AlwaysOn Global 250 companies will be honored at AlwaysOn’s eighth annual Summit at Stanford on July 27^th, 2010, at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA.

This two-and-a-half-day executive gathering will highlight the significant economic, political and commercial trends affecting the global technology industries. Summit at Stanford’s goal is to identify the most promising entrepreneurial opportunities and investments in the global tech industry.

“After examining the companies that are on the AO Global 250 list, it’s obvious that innovation is not only alive and well in the Global Silicon Valley, it’s accelerating in economic power and scope.” says Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. “The companies certainly represent some of the highest-growth opportunities in the private company marketplace.”

The AlwaysOn Global 250 winners were selected from among thousands of domestic and international technology companies nominated by investors, bankers, journalists, and industry insiders. The AlwaysOn editorial team conducted a rigorous three-month selection process to finalize the 2010 list.

America’s sock drawers hold an estimated $30 billion in unredeemed gift cards (which represents approximately 4% of all currency in circulation today). Plastic Jungle gets this trapped money moving again by offering a convenient, safe solution which benefits consumers as well as retailers and other ecommerce companies. As of last week, Plastic Jungle’s gift card exchange generated twice as much business as it did in all of 2009, indicating that it is a business model that is gaining traction.

Plastic Jungle’s leading gift card exchange makes it easy for consumers to get the most value out of gift cards, allowing users to sell gift cards for up to 92% of the unused balance and buy gift cards and save up to 30%. The service also directly benefits retailers, speeding idle gift card balances into immediate revenue and profit. When Plastic Jungle buys gift cards from consumers who are not using them, it places them in the hands of highly motivated, brand-driven purchasers.

Plastic Jungle is also bringing new innovations to the gift card economy. For example, with its recently announced PJ Payments and PJ TopUp products, Plastic Jungle has created the ability for consumers to use gift cards to fund their purchases of goods and services on other websites. For example, Facebook’s 400 million active users can now exchange gift cards for Facebook Credits via Plastic Jungle. With this capability, consumers can use the gift cards they aren’t planning to spend and buy something they want or need.

“Plastic Jungle is honored to be recognized by the AlwaysOn editorial team and global industry experts with this prestigious award,” said Gary Briggs, CEO, Plastic Jungle. “We are proud to be leading the charge in bringing liquidity to the massive unredeemed gift card economy for the benefit of consumers, retailers, and other ecommerce companies.

Our continual growth proves that we are filling a significant gap in the retail economy by allowing retailers to drive enormous incremental value from their already successful gift card programs.”

A full list of all the AlwaysOn Global 250 winners can be found on the AlwaysOn website at:

http://www.aonetwork.com/AOStory/Announcing-2010-AlwaysOn-Global-250

About Plastic Jungle

Plastic Jungle (www.plasticjungle.com) is the Web’s leading gift card exchange, offering the best way to sell, buy or donate gift cards in a trusted environment. Consumers can save money at their favorite stores with discounted gift cards up to 30% off, and Plastic Jungle buys unwanted gift cards for up to 92% of the unused balance. The company’s mission is to bring liquidity to the estimated $30 billion unredeemed gift card economy for the benefit of consumers, retailers, and other ecommerce companies. Based in San Jose, California, Plastic Jungle is privately held, with venture backing from Shasta Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, First Round Capital, Bay Partners, Harrison Metal, and Western Technology Investment.

About AlwaysOn

AlwaysOn is the leading business media brand networking the Global Silicon Valley. AlwaysOn helped ignite the social media revolution in early 2003 when it launched the AlwaysOn network. In 2004, it became the first media brand to socially network its online readers and event attendees. AlwaysOn’s preeminent executive event series includes the Summit at Stanford, OnMedia, OnHollywood, Venture Summit Mid-Atlantic, OnDemand, Venture Summit Silicon Valley, Venture Summit East, GoingGreen Silicon Valley, and GoingGreen East. The AlwaysOn network and live event series continue to lead the industry by empowering its readers, event participants, sponsors, and advertisers like no other media brand.